ANDY HESSENTHALER says his strikers will have to be at their best if they are to outwit former Watford team-mate and Barnsley goalkeeper Kevin Miller at Oakwell on Saturday. The Gills manager makes no secret of his admiration for a player who was a team-mate for two seasons at Vicarage Road before becoming the fifth most expensive in the Premiership at £1.5 million when he left for Crystal Palace.

"I was with Kevin for two years at Watford and came to regard him as top class," said Hessenthaler. "He's a good talker and shot-stopper and it takes something special to beat him. I would certainly rate him among the best in Division 1."

Striker Robert Taylor will be especially keen to beat Barnsley's Player of the Year on his recall to the starting line-up as he comes to the end of a three-month loan from Wolves. Taylor replaces the suspended Marlon King knowing he needs to impress to stand a chance of staying at Gillingham who sold him for a club record £1,500,000 to Manchester City in November, 1999.

Since his arrival from Molineux in October he has been plagued by hamstring problems which have hindered his attempts to achieve full match fitness. He is due to return to Wolves on January 6.

While Taylor's place in the starting line-up is assured, the Gills boss must decide whether or not to recall Barry Ashby to central defence at the expense of transfer-listed Guy Butters.

Barnsley recall skipper Chris Morgan after a one-match suspension but they have a doubt over 10-goal top scorer Bruce Dyer who is struggling to recover from a back injury sustained in training.